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My 10 favorite Korean dramas!

It took me some time to write this post. It was really hard for me to choose only the 10 most-loved dramas. I decided that the occasion of the first birthday of the blog, such a post would be the best. I often like to come back to titles from the list. It’s hard for me to watch all the episodes over again, because I have too little time, and many new dramas are waiting on the horizon. I often return to specific episodes or favorite scenes. The list is set alphabetically, because I couldn’t decide which drama in the hierarchy is the most important. It’s still a miracle that I chose only 10!

1.”Cheese in the trap” (thriller romance)

  

After a year’s break, Hong Seol returns to university to continue her studies. Her family can’t support her financially, which is why she works in many places. Yoo Jung is a golden boy. He is rich, handsome, polite, learns well and everyone wants his attention. It seems that only Hong Seoul doesn’t trust him and sees his real, darker face. Ever since Jung appeared on the horizon, Seoul’s life has become more complicated and less pleasant.

This is one of those dramas you remember for a long time. It was loud about it due to the unsatisfactory ending (not like average drama, but more realistic). The script was written on the basis of a popular online comic that was not finished yet. The creators of the show went on with the end, and this did not please the viewers or the author of the comic. Despite this confusion, I think that the drama is unique. The main four actors are aces. Thanks to the sensational Lee Sung Kyung, I loved the character of the mean Baek In-Ha, and Park Hae-Jin was probably born only to play the role of Yoo Jung. It’s his cold look that makes you shiver on the back of your neck. A wonderful soundtrack also deserves recognition. It unbelievably captures the atmosphere of the series and the feelings of the characters. I highly recommend!
(16 episodes x 60 minutes)

2.”D-day” (medical, catastrophic)

  

Lee Hae-Sung is a young doctor working in the ER. The good of patients is most important to him, and he treats incompetent colleagues ruthlessly. Unlike a hospital director, he doesn’t look at the patients in terms of benefits or costs. When a huge earthquake hits Seoul, he tries to save survivors in very difficult and unfavorable conditions. She has several colleagues to help, including a young doctor from Busan, Jung Dol-Mi.

I don’t like medical and catastrophic series. I was encouraged to watch this drama by the actors. For now, it’s my favorite role of Kim Young Kwang. He lifted emotionally difficult moments of the main character and created amazing chemistry with Jung So-Mi. I like his character very much. Lee Hae-Sung doesn’t make any compromises when it comes to the health and lives of patients. Jung Dol-Mi admires him as a doctor and his dedication to patients. At first she is annoyed by his harsh criticism, but over time she appreciates it and begins to learn from him. From the first episode there are big sparks between them. Their relationship is my favorite part of the series. I love to watch them argue and then work together at the operating table. There is no place for a big romance, because the situation in which they find themselves is extreme. In this case the series is very realistic. I recommend for fans of this genre!
(20 episodes x 60 min.)

3.”The Flatterer” (school comedy)

  

Park Gun (Kwak Dong Yeon) is changing school once again. He promises himself that he will finish school this time at all costs (a promise made to his parents). Unfortunately, the high school Poong Lang is not an ordinary school. This school is mainly attended by the worst students and hooligans that nobody would like to accept. Despite his efforts, Park Gun is still in trouble, and his hot temper doesn’t help him.

Whenever I’m down, or I need such a positively crazy shock, I watch The Flatterer. Drama is very specific, almost abstract. Characters are not very developed, we do not know too much about them. The main character has a story behind him, but we will not know what. The ending of the drama is as if it was lost in the middle of the series, humor is very literal and rather less sophisticated. Still, I really like this crazy story about the worst students in the history of Korean education. I am not bothered by a broken ending or the fact that the characters are not realistic. This is a series for a total rest for your brain, and thanks to short episodes, it’s very fast.
(12 episodes, each lasting about 13, 17 or 20 minutes).

4.”Gogh, The Starry Night” (office comedy)

  

29-year-old Go Ho works at an advertising agency. She gives her all at work, but she still feels underestimated by her explosive boss. When she is transferred to another team she is surprised, but satisfied. Unfortunately, happiness doesn’t last long, because her new boss is her ex-boyfriend, who dumped her in a very nasty way. To take a break from the everyday worries she writes articles based on her crazy life at work.

I love this drama! Recently, drama about office romance has become more popular, but not every such drama can draw me in. “Gogh, the Starry Night” is sensational! The episodes are short, the series has amazing situational humor and amazing actors. Yuri is hilarious, and Kim Young-Kwang is my beloved actor from “D-Day”, so it’s obvious that I love this drama. My favorite scene is the meeting of three Go Ho admirers at the grill place, where each of them tries to make a great impression on her and beat the rest of the opponents. I like it, that in this drama, there are no bad characters. All are positively twisted. This drama is a great remedy for a bad day. It is extremely positive. I’ve seen her probably 5 times.
(20 episodes x about 15 minutes or 4 episodes x about 60 minutes)

5.”Healer” (action)

  

Healer is an alias of the night courier who works in hiding and is hired for various unusual tasks. Thanks to many technological gadgets, great knowledge of martial arts and full anonymity, he is the best in his industry. One day, he gets the order to get some DNA samples. The client is a well-known reporter Kim Moon-Ho, who has been looking for a friend from childhood for a long time. Unfortunately, the young reporter Chae Young-shin became interested in him because she wants to get great material for the article. Soon it turns out that the three of them are connected.

Ah, “Healer. This is one of those dramas that is hard to forget. This is my first drama with Ji Chang-Wook and so far his best. Ji Chang-Wook is incredibly handsome, and his warm, deep tone of voice makes my heart melt. He created an amazing chemistry with Park Min-Young, who plays a young reporter. Besides very attractive young actors, it is worth paying attention to three veterans. My favorite supporting characters are Chae Young-shin’s father and his friend, suspicious Ajussi. And, of course, Kim Mi-Kyung (Ajumma), who plays Healer’s co-worker, who assigns him tasks. I will remember her fight with kimbap for a long time. I have the impression that every drama with her participation is unique. Healer is a drama with many interesting action scenes, a bit of humor, beautiful romance and an interesting story.
(20 episodes x 60 min.)

6.”Just between lovers” (“Rain or Shine”) (melodrama)

  

Ha Moon-Soo and Lee Kang-Doo survived 12 years ago, when a huge shopping center collapsed. He lost his father, and by breaking his leg he had to say goodbye to his dreams of becoming a soccer player. She lost a younger sister in the accident and blames herself for her death. Both live day by day without any hope of improving their fate. They meet by chance on the street, when Ha Moo-Soo helps Lee Kang-Doo after another beating. With time, they find support and understanding in themselves. He teaches her that she doesn’t have to accept her fate, that sometimes she has to shout out her anger. She shows him that his life makes sense, that he must take care of this life and find some goals.

Honestly, only Lee Jun-ho got me to see this drama. I don’t like melodramas, and the title suggests some average love story. Oh, how wrong I was. This drama is a piece of good life history, with beautiful Busan cinematography and an amazing soundtrack. Lee Jun-ho is getting better with every drama, and Won Jin-ah, despite her little acting career, showed that she has a huge talent. They perfectly played young people in love, painfully experienced by fate. In fact, the tragic event of the past left its mark on all the heroes of the drama. Even these seemingly negative characters are actually the victims of this unfortunate accident. The most moving scene for me is a scene that showed what life of our heroes would look like if the accident did not happen. It’s a must-see drama for lovers of melodramas. For me, this drama is perfect in every aspect.
(16 episodes x 60 minutes)

7.”Let’s eat” (food)

  

Goo Dae-young works as an insurance agent, but in his spare time he runs a culinary blog. He finds the most tasty restaurants in the city and recommends them to his readers. He loves to teach everyone how to eat. Lee Soo-kyung is a young divorced woman with a lovely dog who works for a law firm as a secretary. She loves to enjoy good food, but regrets that so few restaurants serve individual customers. The youngest of them, Yoon Jin-yi is a charming girl from a rich family and an aspiring fashion designer. Three lonely neighbors discover that they share their passion for food.

With this drama, I understood what is real Food Porn. If you’re watching this drama hungry and you have an empty fridge, then you’ll be the most unhappy man on Earth. Long, detailed consumption scenes are real torture. At the beginning of each episode such a message should appear: You are on a diet – do not watch it! For me, this drama was an incredibly positive surprise. The plot isn’t very complicated, but all the characters, even the supporting ones, are very nice. Annoying boss Lee Soo-kyung was delightfully goofy in his secret love crush, and her sister with brother-in-law are my favorite characters. They are both crazy and still in love. Drama has three seasons, but I think that the first one is the best and you can stop there. I didn’t watch the second season, but I was tempted by the third one, because I was curious how the life of Goo Dae-young was going. He is the only character who appears in all three series.
(16 episodes x 60 min.)

8.”My secret romance” (romance)

  

Lee Yoo-Mi and Cha Jin-Wook meet by chance on the bus, on the way to the same hotel. Despite the bad start, both of them under the influence of the moment (and bottles of wine) spend a passionate night together. In the morning, the girl disappears leaving Cha Jin-Wook humiliated and furious. After three years, their paths cross again. This time in the company where he is the director, and she is a newly employed nutrition specialist in the company’s canteen.
(13 episodes x 60 min.)

Sweet, uncomplicated romance! You can find a longer review here.

9.”School 2017″ (school)

  

Ra Eun-Ho dreams of becoming a popular comic book author in the future. However, to make it come true, she has to get to her dream university. Unfortunately, with her low ratings, there is almost no chance for that. The situation is not improved by the unexpected appearance of the mysterious X, who destroys school order and introduces chaos into the lives of students. All the blame for his actions is put on the poor Ra Eun-Ho, who is threatens to be dismissed from school and that means the end of dreams of studying.
(16 episodes x 60 minutes)

I love this drama! You can find a longer review here.

10.”Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo” (sport)

  

Kim Bok-Joo is training weightlifting. Getting to the national team is her big dream. Together with two best friends, she trains hard and tries to enjoy student life. One day, she meets her childhood friend who trains swimming at the same university. Although at first Jung Joon-hyung irritates Kim Book-Joo with his behavior, they become friends and begin to spend more and more time together.

I am a huge fan of Lee Sung-Kyung since the drama “Cheese in the Trap”. It’s amazing how much her new character differs from the nasty Baek In-Ha. Kim Bok-Joo is a positive girl, a loyal friend and a very motivated athlete. I love all her scenes with friends. They understand and support each other. Bok-Joo, however, hides her first love crush from them. Kim Bok-Joo slowly began to discover that in addition to being an athlete, she is also a girl and is not able to find herself in this situation. Jung Joon-hyung comes with the help. The whole drama is a great dose of optimism and humor. It is a nice drama about the problems of young people who work hard to achieve their desired goal in life.
(16 episodes x 60 minutes)

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